A British Airways supervisor is reportedly on the run in India after being arrested over a £3million immigration scam he was reportedly running from Heathrow Airport.
The man is said to have carried out the racket over a five-year period, from a check-in desk at Terminal 5.
The scam allegedly saw him help people fly from the UK to Canada without the required visas, in exchange for a £25,000 fee.
He is said to have made £3million over the course of the scam, according to The Sun.
Under the man’s alleged scheme, passengers, who were mainly from India, would reportedly fly to the UK on a temporary visa before he flew them to Canada.
On landing in Toronto or Vancouver, they would then claim asylum.
Canadian authorities are said to have flagged the scheme after noticing a trend in asylum claimants entering the country on BA flights from London.
According to the Sun, an investigation found all the passengers had been checked in at Heathrow by the same member of staff.
He allegedly falsely said the passengers had electronic travel authorisation (ETA).
The man was reportedly arrested by police in the UK on January 6, but has since flown to India.
Police in the UK are said to be working with Indian police to try to find him.
A source told The Sun: “He exploited a loophole knowing that immigration checks are no longer carried out by officials but are left to airline staff.
“By inputting wrong data, and claiming ETA documents had been secured, he got people to countries they had no permission to enter in the first place.
“On arrival, the bogus passengers would shred their documents and claim asylum.
“Many jetted to Britain to pay him to get them to Canada.
“It was an ingenious plan which has made him millions over the years.
“No-one knows yet the full extent of what’s gone on.”
A British Airways spokesperson said :”We are assisting the authorities with their investigation.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “It would be inappropriate to comment while an investigation is ongoing. ”
Interpol has been approached by the Standard for a comment.
